AISI Media Awards - UNECA

UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA

AISI Media Awards
On Promoting the Information Society in Africa
The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has introduced the AISI Media Awards to encourage more informed coverage of the information society and ICT for development issues in Africa as part of the its AISI Outreach and Communication Programme. The AISI Media Awards is aimed at individual journalists and media institutions based in Africa that are “promoting journalism which contributes to a better understanding of the information society in Africa".
The African Information Society Initiative is aimed at supporting and accelerating socio-economic development across the continent, focusing on priority strategies, programmes and projects that can assist in the sustainable build up of an information society in African countries. This requires the development of information resources to reflect the needs of each and every sector and stakeholder in society.

The information society also requires that information and knowledge are disseminated and used by stakeholders, the public at large and disenfranchised groups such as women and the poor, in particular, to make rational choices in the economy and for all groups to exercise democratic and human rights.

Role of the media in the Information Society Article 54 of the AISI states that: “In addition to being an essential means for information dissemination, the mass media plays a critical role in spreading awareness in Africa of the importance and benefits of the information revolution. Newspapers, radio and television provide an easy, accessible and cheap means of carrying information to the end user. Communities in Africa do not have to wait for the Internet to receive much of the information it carries. The mass media can access many of the existing sources of information and provide broad channels of communications to the poor and to remote areas. Media organizations should therefore contribute to the AISI by”:

§ Creating awareness about an AISI for the community at large;
§ Providing ways and means for disseminating information resulting from an AISI;
§ Opening channels for communication which reach out to all citizens.
Consequently, the AISI Media Award is intended to be an annual event, which will honour media institutions and professional each year.
Why an AISI Media Award?
Although the media in Africa are beginning to report on ICT issues, there is still a wide gap in their knowledge and comprehension of the subject in relation to development trends within their national context. It is for this reason that this proposal seeks to develop the AISI Media Award Programme is being launched with the following aims:
Create greater awareness on the role of ICTs in the development process within the framework of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI); Support African media so as to specialise and master ICTs and development issues thereby sharpening their skills and knowledge base; Enhance access to information on this subject area by various African stakeholders, thereby raising greater awareness; Stimulate national debate on key issues and trends currently emerging.
Sponsors
The AISI Media Award is an initiative of ECA, and it is so far supported by the Open Society Initiative for Southern and West Africa (OSISA and OSIWA). Other institutions willing to join are welcome.
Judging

There will be four categories and the four winners from each category will be those, who in the opinion of the Judges, have made a significant contribution to promoting and raising awareness on the information society in Africa.

The Judges have the right to withhold making an award should it be deemed, in their opinion that no entry fully satisfies the criteria laid down. The decision of the Judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY
1. Conditions governing the Awards
§ ECA has the right to reproduce of transmit in any media, for non-commercial purposes, the work that has been selected.

§ ECA has the right to cancel the Awards at any time.

§ The Prizewinner will be ineligible to enter this Award for a period of two years.

§ The decision of the judges shall be final.

§ Members of the panel of judges for the Award shall not be eligible to submit an entry.

2. Categories of entries:

Radio :Programmes from community, commercial and national public radio stations, including news, discussion, documentaries and features.

Print: Regional, national and local newspapers, including specialist magazines.

Television: Factual (documentary and features), News.

Other: Broadcaster of the Year, Promoting African Languages in the Information Society, Media Personality Award (sustained analysis in the news media), Media and ICT application, and the African Diaspora Media.

Entries that cover solely international issues are ineligible unless, they relate to, and develop an understanding of, current information society issues in Africa.

Reportage, analysis and commentary of information society and ICT for development issues in newspapers, magazines, and in radio and television programming.

§ Radio and TV: can be a single programme, a compilation or a series.

§ Web-site entries must include printouts of web pages (A4) with full web address.

§ Broadcaster of the Year entries should be a compilation of no more than 30 mins or radio or TV output from a station or site.

§ Media Personality Award should be submitted on an individual basis with a profile, demonstrating the nominee’s commitment to promoting the issues.

3. Criteria for entries:

All entries must have been published and broadcasted by an African Media institution during the year 2002. Entries can be submitted in more than one category but THREE COPIES OF ALL MATERIAL ARE NEEDED FOR EACH CATEGORY ENTERED. Also, SUBMISSIONS IN AFRICAN LANGUAGES SHOULD BE TRANSLATED (in the case of print) and/or TRANSCRIBED INTO ENGLISH OR FRENCH for RADIO AND TV PROGRAMMES.

4. Submission of Entries:

EACH SUBMISSION MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A FULLY COMPLETED FORM. OTHERWIE THE ENTRY WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

§ Entries must be cassettes for radio /VHS for tapes for TV entries and original materials for print entries.
§ All material in a language other than French and English must have translation and/or transcription included in the submission.
Submissions can be in English, French or Arabic.
Closing date Friday 14 OCTOBER 2002
Submit to:
Ms Kidist Belayneh
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA AISI MEDIA AWARD
DISD, 5th Floor, ECA Building, ECA, PO Box 3001, Menelik II Avenue
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

5. Winners:

The winners will be selected from entries, which in the opinion of the Judges, make a significant contribution to public awareness and understanding of the information society, and which provide analysis on issues concerning access, policy/regulatory environment, the social and economic impacts of ICT for development.

7. Prizes

The Prizewinners will receive an amount equal to 2,000 US Dollars.

[Entry Submission Form]
AISI SITE: http://www.uneca.org/aisi/mediaaward.htm